The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and the Environment revealed today the decision to request a hearing to the government official of Agriculture and the Sea as he believes the Azorean Government and the representatives of Azorean milk producers have to be heard on the distribution of European aid.

Luís Neto Viveiros stressed that the Autonomous Region "has to actively participate in these negotiations" as well as "the representatives of Azorean milk producers," adding that "we cannot understand why there has not been any contact" on the part the Ministry of Agriculture regarding this matter.

Speaking to journalists, the Regional Secretary expressed, once again, his bewilderment at the fact that the National Government has failed "to provide information" on the hearing of a region that accounts for 30% of national milk production and about 50% of national cheese production regarding "a very important subject" of "paramount importance" to the Azores. 

The Secretary for Agriculture ensured that the Regional Government will continue to defend its positions, claiming that the Azores should receive 45% of the 4.8-million Euro aid that will be granted to Portugal, taking into consideration the weight of the milk sector in the archipelago."

The Regional Government has publicly stated that the measures announced by the European Commission to address the European milk and dairy crisis are insufficient, especially the sum allocated to Portugal.

Asked by journalists, Neto Viveiros restated that POSEI cannot serve as a reason for any national or Community authority to compromise the "differential treatment" of the Azores as an Outermost Region, which is justified by the distance from markets and increased production costs.
The Regional Secretary also stressed that the direct aid scheme for production is not exclusively directed to milk and was created for a normal scenario in terms of market operation, which is not the case.

In this regard, Luís Neto Viveiros said the Region will continue the efforts it has undertaken towards the reinforcement of this scheme for the archipelago, which has already some results, earning the support of the European Parliament and the Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions.